Stars: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Rhonda Fleming, Jane Russell

Summary: A three disc collection of classic Abbott & Costello performances.<BR>JACK & THE BEANSTALK the legendary comedic duo provide fairy tale fun for kids. The wacky pair pretty much stick to the outline of the original, but add their own signature comic flourishes and slapstick details. <BR>AFRICA SCREAMS: Buzz Johnson (Bud Abbott) and Stanley Livingston (Lou Costello) go on an African safari in search of treasure. Buzz is a bookseller who tricks Diana Emerson (Hillary Brooke) into believing that his fellow bookseller Stanley is an expert on Africa. They are thereby abducted by Diana's henchmen who expect the two self proclaimed hunters to lead her to an African tribe. On the way there they run up against giant apes, lion tamers, and a wild river. Eventually Buzz makes his way back to the States and Stanley lucks into some diamonds and purchases the store where they both used to work. By the end, Stanley hires Buzz to operate the lift. Charles Barton directs some great gags and funny comedy routines in this lively film. This story contains the much-loved theme of Lou being terrorised by an evil pushy woman who eventually gets so fed up with his ineptitude that she wants him dead. Look for great comic turns by Martin Wilkins as the dreaded Cannibal Chief and Shemp Howard as Gunner.<BR>THE ABBOTT & COSTELLO SHOW - Live in 1954's THE COLGATE COMEDY HOUR, with special guests like Jane Russell, this live TV show sees our heroes on top form. Musical and comedy numbers abound.

A three disc collection of classic Abbott & Costello performances.
JACK & THE BEANSTALK the legendary comedic duo provide fairy tale fun for kids. The wacky pair pretty much stick to the outline of the original, but add their own signature comic flourishes and slapstick details.
AFRICA SCREAMS: Buzz Johnson (Bud Abbott) and Stanley Livingston (Lou Costello) go on an African safari in search of treasure. Buzz is a bookseller who tricks Diana Emerson (Hillary Brooke) into believing that his fellow bookseller Stanley is an expert on Africa. They are thereby abducted by Diana's henchmen who expect the two self proclaimed hunters to lead her to an African tribe. On the way there they run up against giant apes, lion tamers, and a wild river. Eventually Buzz makes his way back to the States and Stanley lucks into some diamonds and purchases the store where they both used to work. By the end, Stanley hires Buzz to operate the lift. Charles Barton directs some great gags and funny comedy routines in this lively film. This story contains the much-loved theme of Lou being terrorised by an evil pushy woman who eventually gets so fed up with his ineptitude that she wants him dead. Look for great comic turns by Martin Wilkins as the dreaded Cannibal Chief and Shemp Howard as Gunner.
THE ABBOTT & COSTELLO SHOW - Live in 1954's THE COLGATE COMEDY HOUR, with special guests like Jane Russell, this live TV show sees our heroes on top form. Musical and comedy numbers abound.

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Abbott & Costello Classic Comedies three-disc collector's set consists of oddments from the latter days of their career that have fallen into public domain; which means you don't get their best routines or classiest productions, and indeed find the double act doing fairly tired schtick as Costello is chubbily chicken-hearted and Abbott grumpily money-grubbing.

Africa Screams is a 1949 safari parody, with Costello running away yelping from sundry alligators, gorillas (including a Kong-sized giant), cannibals ("Chief have sweet tooth for little fat man") and lions amid backlot jungles as Abbott competes with stock villains for a fortune in diamonds. Jack and the Beanstalk, from 1952, finds the duo attempting to sell themselves as children's entertainers in a Wizard of Oz-influenced fairytale book-ended by sepia modern-day segments. The magical story unfolds in wonderfully gruesome cheap colour with some of the worst musical numbers ever committed to film ("he's perpendicular-la-la") as Jack the Clod (Costello) and Mr Dinkelpuss the Butcher (Abbott) climb the beanstalk and plod around the Giant's lair until the story runs out.

Possibly the most interesting item is the third disc, which offers an episode of the Colgate Comedy Hour (aka The Abbott and Costello Show) from the 1950s. It shows the pair doing live routines closer to their original vaudeville act than their film roles (including an amazingly cruel bit in which Abbott slaps Costello every time he says the word "tin"). A loose plot about Latin American intrigue, with Lou hired to stand in for an assassination target "El Presidente", makes room for speciality guest stars ranging from child xylophonist Baby Mistin to four starlets (including Jane Russell and Rhonda Fleming) harmonising on a "Happy Easter" medley. Best of all, and now funnier than the comedy, are original hard-sell ads for household products like "Ajax, the foaming action cleanser" and "Halo, the shampoo that glorifies your hair". --Kim Newman

Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Year:	1949
Release Date:	April 21, 2003
Runtime:	222 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	S I R E 1011
Keywords:	Abbott, Costello, Africa, Collection, Classic, Show, Comedy, Hour, Jack, Box, General, Beanstalk, Set, Laugh, Screams, Abbot, Comedies, Thon, Colgate
Genre:	Comedy